Average Day
by Razberry
Summary: BV. Set on Namek. Bulma gets an unexpected surprise when she is rescued by two very familiar saiyajins who claim that they have come from the future to stop an evil threatening to change all of time and space. Yup. Just your average day. CH 3 UP!
1. Chapter 1: Strange in the Familiar

Disclaimer: As an American college student, I am able to say with perfect honesty that I own absolutely NOTHING. Dragonball Z is the property of FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.

Notes: Contrary to popular belief, I am NOT dead, and am in fact, continuing this fic (because I love the concept too much to let go of it). Point of fact, however (and this is IMPORTANT): I have totally and completely revamped the first two chapters, as I feel my writing skills have greatly improved (transl: they were crap), so for those of you who have already read them, you may want to go back and do so again, if only to get a fuller picture. I tried to keep the feel of the DBZ universe without sacrificing the more detail-oriented, slightly grittier quality of my own style, so let me know how that works out for you.

For NEW readers: this fic is set directly after episode 46: Big Trouble for Bulma (the one with the mother crab) and is positing a space of time between that incident and the one with Furiza's henchmen. From there, it goes into an alternate universe (which will be quickly made clear), featuring Goku & Vegeta from the post-Buu era. Enjoy.

IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE, PLEASE DO SO NOW. IT'S IMPORTANT. TRUST ME.

* * *

_Chapter 1: Strange in the Familiar_

"Arrgh!"

Red-faced and panting, Bulma let herself fall, exhausted, to the rich Namekian ground, the wispy, surprisingly soft blue grass tickling her nose as she buried her face in the earth. She could feel the tension draining from her body as she relaxed under the steady warmth of the suns. The past few days had been almost unbearably miserable. Krillin and Gohan had abandoned her for the umpteenth time, and then that earthquake had come out of absolutely nowhere – _that_ little joy had caused their only Dragonball to fall into the lake, forcing Bulma to risk life and limb – again – for the safety for the wretched thing. As much as she loved travel and adventure, Bulma could feel herself beginning to develop a deep grudge towards those seven magic spheres.

"What else can possibly go wrong in a day? How much worse can this get?" She moaned as she gazed at the alien sky, so familiar and yet so different to the one on Earth. At least everything seemed stable now; surely there had been enough peril for one day. Her muscles ached terribly, and she knew that it had to have been at least a full day since she'd slept, although it was impossible to tell without a watch. Tired and hot, and seeing no immediate threat, Bulma forced herself to her aching feet and dragged herself into the shade of a large boulder for a quick rest, lacking even the energy to trudge the few dozen yards to the capsule house.

She must have fallen asleep at one point, because when she next opened her eyes, Bulma found herself looking up at an unfamiliar and terrifying sight. Two hulking figures in saiyajin armor had appeared over the horizon and were flying rapidly in her direction.

"Please, be a nightmare, please," Bulma whispered, knowing the prayer was futile. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back tears, and took a deep breath. She had to keep her wits about her – they were the only thing she had.

Thinking quickly, Bulma snatched up the Dragonball and dove behind the boulder, pressing herself as far into the rock as she could. Every instinct in her body was telling her to run, but logic and experience told her that attempting to flee would be a death sentence as surely as fighting. The only thing she could do was hide and hope that the soldiers had been too far away to see her. She crouched for what felt like hours, her heart pounding painfully against her ribcage, muscles coiled and ready. She wanted to scream for help, but bit her lip in silence, drawing blood. Was it safe? After several more minutes of tense, empty silence, Bulma decided to risk emerging from her hiding place long enough to get a look at her surroundings. The two men were still there, now hovering in the sky roughly fifty feet up, looking down at where she cowered.

With a terrified gasp, Bulma yanked herself back behind the rock, knowing that it was useless. They knew she was there. Bulma felt like vomiting; her nails bit into her palms as she fought to keep from trembling. She was going to die here. The hopelessness was nearly overwhelming. She bit back a screech as the two soldiers landed in front of her with identical heavy thuds. Thinking quickly, Bulma wedged the Dragonball into a crevice in the rock and moved to block it from view. She hoped they didn't already know she had one. If they had a radar like she did, she was in some trouble.

"Well, what have we here?" The first soldier gave a toothy grin. He was extremely ugly, Bulma noted, disgust momentarily winning out over terror, and somewhat resembled an alligator… if alligators were seven feet tall, wore armor, and carried nasty looking guns.

"Looks like a little human woman... What are you doing this far out? And all alone, too. Tsk. Don'tcha know it's dangerous?" leered the second. This one was at least relatively human, but he was still no looker. And the stench! Kami! Bulma grimaced. She felt the urge to bathe just being _near_ these freaks.

"Yeah," sneered alligator-man. "A weak thing like you could get hurt."

Bulma let out an involuntary whimper and scooted away, inadvertently knocking the Dragonball from where she'd wedged it in the rock. She could only watch in frozen horror as it rolled to a stop in the bluish grass, glowing warmly in the sunlight.

"What's this?" The second alien asked. He scooped up the Dragonball in one large, gloved hand. Bulma's eyes widened in panic. This wasn't good.

"Nothing! Just a trinket, purely ornamental," she lied quickly, hoping they were stupid enough to buy it. If they didn't already know what the Dragonball was, she certainly wasn't going to tell them.

"Hey, ain't that one of those things Furiza-sama is looking for?" Bulma's heart sank as alligator-man examined the ball his partner was holding.

"Yeah, I think you're right, looks like we've found us _two_ surprises," the human-like one grinned and gave Bulma a leer, tossing the Dragonball aside as he advanced. Realizing the soldier's intentions, Bulma leaped to her feet, eyes flashing. Weak human or not, she wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"Not a chance! Don't you get near me, you scaly freaks!" She snarled. One hand crept to her jacket pocket; there was a weapons capsule in there somewhere, if she could just get to it...

"Oh yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?" taunted alligator-man.

_'Where is it... where is it...?'_ Her fingers dug into the pocket and came up empty. _'Oh no!'_ she realized. _'They're in the house! I'm doomed!'_

The two aliens advanced, baring their teeth in very unpleasant, matching grins.

"Get away!" She demanded hoarsely, her voice trembling as she tried to hold back her panic. _'Gohan, Krillen, where are you?'_

"I suggest you do as the onna says," growled a deep voice. Bulma's head jerked upward, and she saw the outlines of two more figures in the sky.

_'Not more of them!'_ She paled. _'I'm done for!'_

"And just who do you think you are?" sneered alligator-man, squinting into the sunlight.

"Someone a lot stronger than you, I'd bet," chuckled another, more familiar voice. Bulma wished all three suns weren't in her eyes so she could see who her would-be rescuers were.

"Hey, I'll have you know we're part of Furiza's elite guards!" protested the human-like soldier. Good. He and alligator-man were entirely focused on the newcomers. Taking advantage of the aliens' distraction, Bulma snatched up the Dragonball and slipped behind the boulder to relative safety.

"I know very well who you are, and unless you want to die right now, I suggest you leave. We have no time to waste with weaklings like yourself," sneered the first voice. With twin shouts of indignation and fury, Furiza's men leapt into the air and fired a volley of blinding ki blasts at the silhouettes. Or at least, they tried to. The attacks shot harmlessly past where Bulma's saviours had hovered less than a second ago, and an instant later the henchmen fell dead to the ground, a blackish blood flowing freely from the gaping holes in their abdomens, their faces twisted and frozen in expressions of shock and horror.

Bulma squeezed her eyes shut and covered her mouth with her hand, feeling distinctly nauseous. She didn't have a weak stomach by any means (she couldn't, spending so much time with Goku), but the mangled corpses were far more disturbing than anything she had ever seen before.

"You OK there, Bulma-san?" The two figures floated down.

Bulma's eyes shot open. She _did _know that voice.

"Goku?! Is that you?!" She gaped at the familiar visage of her friend as he floated down to greet her with that warm, reassuring smile that Bulma could only identify as completely _Goku_, and she rushed over to give him a hug, unable to suppress the cry of joy that was torn from her throat. Laughing, he returned her embrace with a gentle squeeze. This was wonderful – they were saved! Goku was finally on Namek, wearing his familiar orange gi and silly grin, and everything was going be all right. But even as he held her tightly against his muscled chest, Bulma felt a twinge of wrongness. There was something… _off._ Bulma pulled back from the embrace, the elated fluttering in her stomach fading to an uncertain thrum as she fully took in her friend's appearance.

It wasn't a significant difference, at least physically. Like always, Goku was tall and muscular, his black hair sticking wildly out in every direction, a few of the spikes falling down over his warm, dark eyes. There were maybe a few lines around his mouth and the corners of his eyes that hadn't been there before, but the real difference that Bulma felt was intangible. There was something there… an awareness, almost… that she couldn't really describe. Whatever it was, it didn't frighten her – if anything, it was comforting – but it was the sort of maturity and wisdom that she hadn't ever seen in Goku before, and that was what truly unnerved her.

Hesitantly, Bulma reached up and touched his face, just the barest brush of fingers on skin. Was this man really the naïve little boy she'd met so many years ago? It didn't seem so. "You… you seem different, Son-kun."

"He _is_ different, baka onna." With a jolt, Bulma remembered the second person who had come to her rescue. That twinge returned – Goku had been traveling to Namek alone, hadn't he? She shoved her misgivings away and turned to greet the other man, but only managed a high pitched noise somewhere between a screech and a squeal.

"V-Vegeta!" Bulma leapt back behind her rock, looking to Goku for support. "What's _he_ doing here?! What's going on, Goku?!"

To her confusion and horror, Goku made no move to fight the prince and only gave her a bewildered blink. "Gee, Bulma, I don't know why you're so worked up, it's only-"

The taller saiyajin was cut off as Vegeta viciously slammed his elbow into Goku's gut. Bulma ducked behind her rock with a shriek and waited for all hell to break loose.

"She doesn't know anything, baka! We're not in our time anymore!" Vegeta spat angrily, his eyes blazing.

Goku gave a chuckle and a sheepish grin, rubbing at his stomach where Vegeta had hit him. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Man, we really went back far, didn't we?" He let out a low whistle.

The saiyajin prince growled in irritation and rolled his eyes. "Kakarotto, you would forget your own head if it wasn't attached to your shoulders. Now let's go, we need to find the Dragonballs."

Bulma frowned and cautiously peeked out from behind the boulder. This wasn't the Goku and Vegeta she knew. The more she looked at them, the more Bulma could see how much older this Goku appeared, even if it was only subtly. Vegeta had aged even more obviously, growing taller (however minutely) and more muscular, although neither of the saiyajins looked a day over thirty-five. These two got along, sort of; they even sounded like _friends_, in a strange, terrifying way.

"Who... Who are you?" She asked, gaining a little of her courage back now that it seemed she wasn't in the middle of a war zone, after all. "You aren't Goku and Vegeta."

"Wha... Of course we are. Who else would we be?" Goku frowned. Vegeta growled again and shot his companion a scathing glare.

"It was our aim to avoid contact with any sentient beings, but seeing as how that idea has already flown out the window..."

"We might as well screw up the timeline even more?" Goku grinned brightly. Vegeta's scowl deepened. "And by the way, it wasn't me who decided to interfere, you-"

"Shut up!" Vegeta hissed; he turned to face the still cowering Bulma. "Get up, onna. You're being ridiculous. No one is going to kill you." Bulma snorted disbelievingly. "We're not quite who you think we are," he explained patiently, as though he were talking to a particularly slow child. Bulma's eyebrow gave an irritated twitch. "We're from the future."

Bulma raised a brow skeptically. "The future? Do you really think I'm going to buy that? I hate to tell you this, but time travel isn't even possible."

"But it will be," Goku interjected. "It's true, Bulma. We're probably about…" He paused and counted off his fingers for a moment, looking thoughtful. "I'd say fifteen years ahead of you, give or take a few. It's kind of a long story why we're here, so… Do you think we might be able to get something to eat while we explain?"

As intriguing as the idea of time travel was, Bulma couldn't help rolling her eyes. That was Goku, all right. Leave it to him, from whatever time, to think of food when she was half-dead from fright. She crawled out from behind her rock and took a few calming breaths as she dusted herself off.

"…Sure Goku, come on." Turning to look at Vegeta, she hesitated. Goku gave her a reassuring nod and a thumbs-up. Vegeta just scowled.

"I- I guess you can come too... It's just..."

"I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're worried about, onna. Kakarotto and I have much bigger fish to fry." The two saiyajins exchanged dark glances that inexplicably frightened Bulma more than anything else that had happened thus far.

Bulma shook off the chill that crept up her spine and turned to go into the house, beckoning for the others to follow. She was still wary of this supposed new-and-improved Vegeta, but this person obviously wasn't the saiyajin prince she was familiar with, and Goku had vouched for him, so for now she would just keep her guard up. Bulma led the two men into the kitchen, pulled out an armful of items from the icebox, and began the daunting task of preparing some food for Goku's bottomless gullet.

Nearly an hour later, five chickens, eighteen bowls of rice, nine bowls of soup, and three chocolate cakes had been consumed and Bulma was getting antsy. She sat across the table from Goku and Vegeta, fingers tapping out a rhythm on the tabletop impatiently.

"Man Bulma, that was great," Goku exclaimed as he swallowed the last bit of cake. Bulma twitched. She could care less what Goku thought of her culinary skills; most of the food had been precooked anyway. She wanted to know what was happening! Like everything else in her life, it was clearly not of the norm.

"Now, down to business," Vegeta grunted. He himself hadn't eaten, but had made several remarks about Goku's admittedly disgusting dining habits and what had sounded suspiciously like a crack at her cooking. Bulma leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Now _this _was what she had been waiting to hear.

"As Kakarotto said earlier, we are from about fifteen years in the future, perhaps a bit less," the prince began. "We have come back to this time to destroy a being that goes by the name of Sanzoku. He is what is known as an _Imitari_, a nearly extinct alien race with the ability to steal energy and abilities from their opponents. At some point, Sanzoku has gained the ability to travel in time, and has come from the future with intent to kill both Kakarotto and myself-"

"Which isn't really that unusual," Goku interjected. "And usually, we wouldn't be too worried..."

"But he isn't going after us as our present – to you, future – selves. He's decided-"

"To target you both as you are in this time," Bulma finished, glad she understood at least some of what was going on.

"Bingo," Goku said, all playfulness gone from his face. "We're too strong for him the way we are, so he came back to this time, when we were much, much weaker."

"But why does he want to kill you, Goku?"

"Who _doesn't_ want to kill Kakarotto for one reason or another?" Vegeta said, rolling his eyes slightly. Bulma tensed but said nothing. Vegeta went on. "In this case, he wants to obliterate the entire saiyajin race, which is, again, not strange in itself. But Sanzoku... he may have found a way to do it. With our past selves out of the way, it will automatically prevent the existence of any children either of us may father, and killing Kakarotto's eldest brat will be no hard task here. Thus the entire saiyajin race is gone, with three quick kills, rather than several difficult ones." Vegeta finished.

"And here's where it gets complicated." Goku looked like his brain was hurting just mentioning it.

"Where what gets complicated?" Bulma asked curiously. "It sounds pretty simple to me. Find this Sanzoku guy, kill him, and go home happy."

"Baka onna, just by coming here we've created a separate reality," Vegeta snapped. "This never happened in our world. Sanzoku didn't exist. But he can do more than travel through time, he can tie worlds together. If he succeeds, he can use his own life force to bind all realities together at that one instant in time, so that no saiyajin exists anywhere, in any universe."

"And that would be, well... bad," Goku finished.

"I see." Bulma paused and frowned. "Hang on, rewind a minute... Did you say Goku's _oldest_ child? You mean he's going to have more!" Her eyes lit up. She loved children, and sweet little Gohan would make such a good big brother…

Vegeta grimaced at his own slip and Goku smirked. "Who's saying things they're not supposed to now?"

"Damare yo, baka."

Goku just grinned. Bulma frowned at the continued ease between the two enemies. "You never told me, why _are_ you working with Vegeta, Son-kun?"

"Oh! Right," Goku laughed again. "You know, I probably shouldn't say anything ("Then don't," Vegeta muttered under his breath.), but he's... kind of on our side now." Another grin.

Bulma's eyes widened. Vegeta? One of the good guys? She could hardly imagine him hanging around Capsule Corp. or at Master Roshi's with the other guys. But the way Goku said it... She could agree that this Vegeta was somehow different from the one from her time, but that didn't mean she was suddenly going to be all buddy-buddy with him.

"I'm _not_ in your little group, Kakarotto," Vegeta growled, scowling. "You know perfectly well that I only stick around for my own interests, not to play hero."

"Whatever, Vegeta." Goku waved him off, which only irritated the shorter man further. "Anyway, let's get going. We need to find our past selves before Sanzoku gets to them."

"Along with the Dragonballs," Vegeta reminded his somewhat forgetful companion.

"What? Why?" Bulma asked sharply, instantly on the defensive. No matter what this future Goku said, she wasn't going to believe that Vegeta was good until she saw it for herself.

"Sanzoku knows we followed him," Vegeta enunciated each word slowly and clearly. Bulma bristled. "And he knows that if we find him, he's as good as dead. So chances are he'll be searching for the Dragonballs as well. If he gets his hands on them and makes a wish, were as good as beaten, onna."

"Ok, first off, the name's Bulma, and I expect to be called by it," Bulma began, earning a chuckle from Goku and a snort from Vegeta. "I can see your point about the Dragonballs, but as long as we have this one," Bulma waved a hand at the Dragonball next to her, "he can't call the dragon, so I don't really see the big hurry in getting them. Secondly, I'm not deaf, I'm not dumb, and I'm not four years old, so quit talking to me like I'm an idiot. And one more thing: if you're both going somewhere, you're taking me with you."

"Absolutely not," Vegeta said firmly. Bulma was a bit taken aback by his apparent concern for her safety, but that feeling was rapidly replaced with irritation as he finished his statement. "Having you in the way will only slow us down."

Vegeta or not, _nobody_ said that to her! Goku seemed to sense that all hell was about to break loose, because he quickly intervened.

"Hey, hang on Bulma!" the taller saiyajin said, laying a restraining hand on her arm. "Maybe he's right. We need this taken care of as soon as possible, and-"

"Goku!" Bulma screeched and whirled on her friend. "I have been through absolute HELL in this place, and I deserve to at least see what's going on! You are taking me with you whether you want to or not!"

Vegeta's dark eyes hardened to a furious glare. "Fine then," he bit out, "let her get herself killed if she wants to that badly." He stalked to the door.

"Vegeta..." Goku began worriedly.

"Let's just go, Kakarotto. If you're coming, hurry up, onna."

"Don't call me that!"

* * *

_To Be Continued..._

Notes: All right, revamped part #1. It changed a lot more than part #2. Also, I am going to be mixing many of the English and Japanese names (ie; Furiza instead of Frieza, but Bulma instead of Buruma), simply because I like some spellings better than others. Along this note, I won't be using very much Japanese in this fic at all, primarily because I am not fluent in the language. The only times I'll be using it is when a word doesn't translate well into English, or when I decide to switch back and forth between translations (ie; I'm using both 'idiot' and 'baka' in the fic). It really just has to do with the "feel" of the words in the sentence. *shrugs*


	2. Chapter 2: Vegeta's Admission

Disclaimer: As an American college student, I am able to say with perfect honesty that I own absolutely NOTHING. Dragonball Z is owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.

Notes: This chapter is much the same as it was originally – perhaps there's a little more detail, and I fixed some grammar issues. I've decided I hate my writing style for this – usually I like it. Mayhaps I'm trying too hard to keep the "feel" of the series. I dunno… Wait, no, I've changed my mind. I like it. :) I'm bipolar like that. Go read.

* * *

_Chapter 2: Vegeta's Admission_

"I hate flying," Bulma whimpered and clung tighter to Goku's neck as they raced across the Namekian sky. Vegeta had grumbled about not moving as fast as they could, but otherwise followed along silently.

"What do you mean, Bulma? You fly all the time…" Goku blinked at her inquisitively.

"In machines – cars, jets, helicopters. This is an entirely different fruitcake."

Goku just shook his head and sped up. Bulma buried her face in his shoulder and tried to forget that she was hundreds of feet above the ground.

"We're getting close." Vegeta spoke up after several minutes. "Your friends and my past self are moving this way to get the Dragonball." He indicated the orange sphere Bulma held in her lap. It was a little awkward, but she had refused to let Vegeta carry it.

"Great!" Goku grinned. "Man, it'll be so weird to see Gohan and Krillin this young again."

"Not great," the other saiyajin growled. "You have successfully screwed up the timeline enough already, and meeting anyone else, myself especially, will almost certainly be a disaster."

"Relax Vegeta," Goku slowed to a halt. Bulma cautiously lifted her head up. "We could probably use some help – Sanzoku won't be expecting it. Anyway, what's the worst that could happen?"

"What's the worst that could _happen_?!" Vegeta spluttered furiously, eyes wide in disbelief. "Our entire future could be destroyed! It may already be!"

"So what's a little more going to hurt?" Goku said reasonably. "We don't know what will happen – er, what's already happened. This could all change for the better."

Vegeta's face twisted in fury; Bulma clung tighter to Goku and watched the scene with wide eyes. Goku's eyes darted down to her in concern.

"Not now, Vegeta," he said, his voice much quieter than before. "Let's just take things as they come."

There was a long, tense silence as to two saiyajins stared one another down, appearing to almost communicate silently while Bulma watched with wide eyes. After a minute, Vegeta's lips tightened and he gave a near imperceptible nod. "…Fine."

"All right, then," Goku's serious demeanor evaporated as quickly as it had appeared. "We can wait right down here." He indicated an island a few hundred yards away.

Without waiting for an agreement from Vegeta, Goku raced down to the island, a screeching Bulma flailing wildly in his arms.

"Gokuuuuu!" she wailed. "Slow down!"

"…We're already here, onna."

Bulma blinked and looked over at Vegeta, who was watching her with a strange mix of irritation and amusement, both his feet firmly planted on the ground. She turned pink and scrambled out of Goku's arms, her heart racing wildly. The Dragonball fell to the grass with a dull thud.

"Well, what now?" Bulma demanded, her ears still burning with embarrassment. She hated looking foolish more than anything. Stupid Goku.

"We wait for everything to explode in our faces." Vegeta shot a scathing glare towards an oblivious Goku. "I suggest you don't get too comfortable."

"Why are you always so negative, Vegeta?" Goku gave an exasperated sigh. "Everything's always worked out before, what's so different now?"

Vegeta growled. "Can I talk to you for a moment, Kakarotto? In private?" His eyes darted to where Bulma stood watching the whole conversation. She raised an eyebrow and waved her hand in dismissal before walking off to examine her surroundings. Vegeta took this as his cue and whirled on his companion.

"What's so different?! This is our past! We've probably already damaged this time beyond repair!" He spoke in a harsh whisper, nearly nose to nose with the other man.

"Or improved it, you don't know," Goku interjected, undeterred. "And as long as we win, this doesn't affect our dimension anyway – remember Mirai Trunks?"

"It doesn't matter!" Vegeta's face was turning red with the effort of not screaming. "Maybe… maybe I liked how our dimension turned out – maybe I don't want it changed, even for the better!" He struggled to spit out the next few words, as though it hurt to say them. "I might not die – as unpleasant as Hell was, I became stronger because of it. You might not become Super Saiyajin, which means I might not either. I might never… I might never come to Earth… have a son… have…" He choked on this last admission, unable to finish. Goku's eyes softened, new understanding dawning on his face.

"Vegeta…" He put a hand on the smaller saiyajin's shoulder, but Vegeta shrugged it off and gave Goku his darkest glare. The other man wasn't fazed.

"That won't happen," he said confidently. "Any of it. I promise."

Vegeta's face hardened into its usual inscrutable mask. "Don't be foolish, Kakarroto. You can't repair what has already been destroyed. You can only pick up the pieces and move on. We do what we have to do, no more and no less. We kill Sanzoku, and we leave."

"Whatever you say, Vegeta."

* * *

_"…I might never come to Earth… have a son… have…"_

Bulma listened in shock to the saiyajin prince's admission from her hiding place a few yards away. She had wanted to know what they were talking so heatedly about, but she had never expected this. Vegeta had come to Earth? Lived there? Had a son? …A wife? It was incomprehensible. Vegeta was evil. He killed people – innocent people. How could he ever settle peacefully on Earth?

Her mind was buzzing with so many questions it was a wonder she heard the approaching footsteps. Quickly, she arranged herself in the grass so it looked like she was taking a nap.

"Onna." A boot nudged her side. Bulma opened an eye and tried to look irritated at being woken. It wasn't difficult.

"The name's Bulma, jerk."

"Get up. Your friends will be here soon." He turned and walked away.

Bulma lifted herself off the ground and brushed the dust from her clothing. She had the strangest feeling that he knew she'd been listening, but she forced herself to shrug it off. Krillin and Gohan were headed her way… along with her time's Vegeta, if she'd heard correctly earlier. Why they were traveling together was a mystery to her, but Bulma supposed that this new bit of information, like the rest she had gathered from the two saiyajins, would make sense in time.

No pun intended, of course.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

Notes: And there's revamped part #2. Sorry for the shortness. I love the Namek saga. It is so my favorite (followed by the Buu saga – and look! I managed to squeeze both in one fic! Lovely!). I think it's the overabundance of character development. :) Okay, from here on out, it's all new, guys.

Also, about the mix of Japanese/English terms, specifically my use of Vegetasei, but using Namek instead of Namekusei and Earth instead of Chikyuu – it's mostly so I can more easily differentiate between person Vegeta and place Vegeta… and Namekusei is really long to type. :P


	3. Chapter 3: Shadowed Horizons

Disclaimer: As an American college student, I am able to say with perfect honesty that I own absolutely NOTHING.

Summary: BV. Set on Namek. Bulma gets an unexpected surprise when she is rescued by two very familiar people who claim that they have come from the future to stop an evil threatening to change all of time and space. Yup. Just your average day.

Notes: And now the others come in. You know, this is going in a completely different direction than I originally thought. Go fig. Don't worry, it's still good – and you get a few more surprise characters. *wink* Give a guess, guys! There will be at least 2 characters (maybe 3) that shouldn't be there and 2 more that get bigger roles than I had originally planned for. And I'm debating changing the title, let me guys know what you think.

* * *

_Chapter 3: Shadowed Horizons_

It felt like they had been flying for much too long, Gohan thought, even though in reality it had only been a few, unbearably tense minutes. He didn't know what they would do after they retrieved the Dragonball from Bulma; he and Krillin couldn't just give it to Vegeta, he knew that much, but he could feel the powers racing towards Namek drawing closer, and he also knew that without a strategy of some kind, they wouldn't stand a chance against the Ginyu, even with Vegeta as an ally.

So involved in his worries, Gohan almost didn't notice when both Krillin and Vegeta stopped short, and barely avoided colliding into the both of them. "Hey, guys, what's – "

And then he felt it. Two huge powers, stronger than anything Gohan had ever sensed before, had just appeared somewhere to the west. "Wow…"

"No kidding," Krillin said, awestruck. "Where do you think they came from?"

"Why does it matter?" Vegeta responded with a growl, eyes narrowing to slits. "They're near where that woman of yours is keeping the last Dragonball. I doubt it's coincidence."

"What? Bulma? Oh, shit…" Krillin looked horrified.

Gohan frowned and concentrated harder, dark eyes sliding shut to block out distraction; one ki was more than familiar to him, but it had been so strong… could it be? Yes! Yes, it was!

"It's my dad! Krillin, it's okay, it's Dad, I can tell!" Gohan shouted. Vegeta's head jerked around sharply to fix the young boy with a wide stare.

"Kakarotto? You're certain?"

"…It is! I don't believe it!" Krillin let out a whoop. "Incredible!"

Vegeta scowled deeply, but Gohan paid him no mind. With his dad there, and so powerful, the Ginyu wouldn't be any problem – even Furiza's ki didn't compare!

"But Gohan, who's with him?" Krillin's voice cut through Gohan's thoughts. "I didn't know he was with anybody."

Oh. That was right. Gohan frowned and focused on the second ki, nearly as strong as his father's. It too was vaguely familiar… it felt a little like… Gohan's eyes slid over to where Vegeta hovered, the scowl deepening on his face. Krillen seemed to be having similar thoughts, because he too was eyeing Vegeta with a strange look.

"Hey, uh, Vegeta…" The monk stuttered slightly. "You… you don't have any relatives or anything, do you?"

"Unlikely," Vegeta scoffed. "Not with a power level like that."

This didn't feel right. If Gohan had learned one thing from his time with Piccolo, it was how much work and training it took to increase your strength even the tiniest fraction. And as amazing as his dad was, Gohan knew it wasn't possible for him to have grown this much in power this quickly – the energy he sensed now was absolutely massive, completely dwarfing everything except for the other mysterious ki that had appeared alongside it. It was more than a little disturbing, and glances at Krillen and Vegeta told him that although the bald man didn't seem to have picked up on this detail yet, Vegeta was keenly aware that something was off.

"We need to check this out, guys." Gohan really wanted to believe it was his dad, and that they were saved, but his common sense told him to be cautious. Krillin shot him a sober glance.

"…You think there could be trouble?"

"Naturally." Vegeta cut in with a growl, eyes narrowed. "They're moving this way. Come on."

Vegeta took off in a blur of blue and white, racing towards where the strangers had appeared. Gohan and Krillen, after a moment, scrambled to catch up with him. Maybe heading right towards the most powerful beings they'd ever sensed without knowing if they were friend or foe wasn't the best idea in terms of survivability, Gohan thought as he struggled to keep up with the prince, but it certainly was the most efficient way to find out what was going on.

_'And Bulma's somewhere over there too,'_ he reminded himself. He only hoped that she was okay.

* * *

"This is boring," Bulma complained for the fifth time in past fifteen minutes, draping herself dramatically over a mossy boulder, surreptitiously eyeing the two saiyajins out of the corner of her eye. She could tell her whining was grating on Vegeta's nerves, although he was doing an admirable job of ignoring her, and that was half the reason she kept at it. She was fairly certain that Goku wouldn't let Vegeta kill her, and so she'd decided to be as obnoxious to the bastard as she possibly could be without being too obvious about it. He deserved a hell of a lot more than her whining on and on, but hey, she'd do what she could. "You guys couldn't have let me grab a few magazines before we left?"

"Sorry, Bulma," Goku, ever the predictable nice-guy, apologized. "It's not really something I'd think of…"

She sighed and pushed herself to her elbows. To be honest, a magazine would be nice. The only mags she had on her were the ones for her Uzis, and they weren't much for entertainment value. "When are the others going to get here? I thought you said they'd be here soon."

"For Kami's sake, shut up, onna!" Ah, there was the temper. Even as she jumped, Bulma found herself irrationally pleased that she'd finally gotten to the foul-tempered prince. Vegeta glared at her from where he skulked in the shadow of a high cliff face. "I can't believe you're still this obnoxious –" He stopped abruptly mid-sentence, two spots of color appearing high on his cheekbones.

…Now that was interesting. Bulma raised a brow and sat up fully, leaning forward in interest. "So, you know me then? I'm around in your time?"  
Vegeta clenched his teeth and glanced sideways over at Goku, who just bit his lip and looked like he was trying very hard not to say anything. He had always been lousy at keeping secrets; Bulma made a mental note to press him for answers later, already realizing that getting any truly useful information from the saiyajin prince would be nearly impossible. That didn't mean she wasn't going to give it her best shot, though. Bulma raised a brow.

"Well, I'm waiting…" Bulma forced herself to suppress a giggle. She couldn't fathom why the question had him so flustered; if he really was hanging around with Goku in the future, it only stood to reason that he would know her as well. His reaction was… intriguing, to say the least.

"…I live on Earth. I know everyone in your little group," Vegeta replied blandly, his face a careful mask of indifference. Bulma's suspicion was piqued; he was very obviously leaving something out, but Bulma wasn't sure what, and she didn't quite know what questions to ask to figure it out. So she settled on annoying Vegeta again.

"…So am I as pretty fifteen years from now as I am today?" She batted her eyelashes coquettishly and grinned, knowing it was bound to grate on Vegeta's nerves.

To Bulma's bewilderment, Vegeta appeared to choke for a moment, before composing himself and growling out, "You're uglier than ever."

"What!" Bulma huffed. "I'll have you know I'm the prettiest girl you'll ever meet! Your stupid monkey senses are just too backwards to recognize real beauty when you see it!"

Briefly she was struck with a sense of déjà vu; she remembered saying the exact same thing to Goku when she first met him years ago. Goku must have been thinking along similar lines, because Bulma saw the beginnings of a smile twitching at the corners of her friend's mouth. But Goku hadn't even known what a girl looked like; Vegeta didn't have that excuse. In a fit of childish pettiness, Bulma stuck out her tongue at the prince…

Who was no longer paying her any bit of attention.

Both Vegeta and Goku were gazing up at the sky, where three tiny dots had appeared over the horizon and were moving their way.

"Looks like they're here."

* * *

The carnage within the tiny Namekian village was absolute. Dead bodies littered the ground; many of the corpses were charred and mangled, fresh blood still flowing freely from gaping wounds, and the stench of burnt flesh hung in a low cloud over the mountains of rubble. Small fires still burned where ki blasts had struck, and there was a myriad of new craters in the soft soil, several already filling with water. In the center of it all, Sanzoku stood in silence, unaffected by the massacre.

He growled low in his throat as he felt the presence of the two saiyajins appear on Namek; somehow they had managed to get through his rip before it closed. That complicated things. Still, the original plan was the same. He would just have to hurry and gather the Dragonballs before the saiyajins found him. Avoiding the two savages wouldn't be too difficult; within seconds he had completely hidden any trace of his ki. Many races had learned to mask their energy by lowering it to almost nothing, but the ability to both use ki and hide it entirely, at the same time… it was a trait held only by a mollusk race in the Southern Quadrant, and the Imitari had been lucky enough to meet one in his travels.

Getting a hold of the Dragonballs, however… that was going to be more challenging than he expected. Someone else on the planet was apparently searching for the balls as well, and the Nameks were highly suspicious of anyone asking around about them. Oh well. People were easier to search when they were dead.

He surveyed the destruction around him with impassive black eyes. The amount of energy these Nameks held was pitiful, and their abilities seemed limited to regeneration and healing. Sanzoku scowled, his hands clenching and unclenching in agitation. There had been no Dragonball in the village, and he had noticed that his grey marbled skin had developed a faint green tinge from absorbing so much Namekian ki; anxiously he raised a hand to his skull to check if any antennae had sprouted. None had. He could never tell exactly what traits he would take away when he drained his victims – it was always a toss up, and sometimes the effects were more pleasing than others.

"A wasted endeavor," He muttered to himself, rising slowly into the air. With this other person collecting the Dragonballs as well, it was impossible to say where any of them were at the current time. He needed more information. Allowing his slanted eyes to slide closed, Sanzoku reached out with his senses for any indication of a direction to travel.

There, to the north.

It was some kind of temporary base, he could tell; it's inhabitants were clearly not Nameks, judging by their ki levels. One in particular stood out from the others. If that wasn't a good indication of where he might find some Dragonballs, he didn't know what was.

Smirking, Sanzoku set off, leaving the still-smoldering village in ruins.

* * *

Bulma and her two companions watched stoically as the three faint shapes in the distance slowly grew larger and larger, until the outlines of Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta were clearly visible against the pale green of the sky.

"Gohan! Krillen!" Bulma cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to them, then waved. As angry as she was about the two boys leaving her alone for so much of their adventure on Namek, it was good to see the both of them alive and well. "Over here!"

Beside her, Vegeta rolled his eyes. "They know we're here, stop being ridiculous."

Bulma quashed the urge to stick out her tongue. "Well, excuse me for having the manners to greet my friends. I would think a_ prince_," she huffed, putting extra emphasis on the title, "would have some idea of such niceties."

A snort. "A prince would not be caught engaging in such foolish shouting and flailing about, nor would any true saiyajin –"

"Hey guys!" A shout from Goku interrupted Vegeta, whose eyebrow twitched slightly in irritation.

"…I believe my point has been proven." The prince stalked off to lean against the cliff face once again, apparently too disgusted by his companions' antics to remain in their company. Bulma didn't mind. Good riddance to him.

_"Goku?!"_

_"Daddy!!"_

Twin shouts rang through the air as Krillin and Gohan barreled through the air. The bald monk skidded to a halt on the ground a few feet in front of his oldest friend, his shoes digging shallow ruts in the soft dirt, a brilliant smile on his round face; Gohan didn't even bother to slow down as he slammed full force into his father's chest, wrapping his little arms and legs around Goku's muscled torso and burying his face in the orange gi, tears of joy flowing freely down his cheeks. Vegeta's entrance was more subdued; he landed lightly at the edge of the island, looking deeply agitated and more than a little wary.

"Sugoi, Goku…" Krillen looked up at the saiyajin in awe. "It's great to see you again, but… how did you get so powerful?"

There was a short pause. "Well…" Goku gave his young son one last squeeze before putting him down. He seemed to think for a moment before continuing. "Anou… I don't really know a good way to put this, so – we're from the future."

"We – the future – what?" Krillen spluttered, mouth agape. Gohan simply stared up at his father with wide eyes.

"…'Tousan?"

Goku smiled gently at his son. "Yeah, Gohan, it's me, just a bit older than normal, that's all."

Bulma jumped as Vegeta took a step forward. "I don't have time for Kakarotto's delusions," he barked, focusing on the orange sphere at Bulma's feet. "I need the last Dragonball, now."

Bulma's heart leapt to her throat. This was their time's Vegeta, the evil tyrant who had been terrorizing them since they landed. Fear gripped her, but she stood her ground. "Fat chance, vegetable breath."

She snatched up the Dragonball from where it had been resting in the grass and held it against her chest protectively, drawing courage from her friends around her. After all, it was herself, Krillen, Gohan, and Goku against the prince; surely Vegeta didn't stand a chance.

"Hold it, Vegeta." Krillen and Gohan sank into fighting stances, ready to attack. Goku watched silently, his normally open face inscrutable. "We never said we were willing to just hand over the Dragonball."

"Kono yaro!" Vegeta spat. "Without the Dragonball, everyone here is as good as dead!"

Gohan took a step forward, eyes hard. Bulma felt a pang as it struck her just how much Gohan had been forced to grow up in the past two years. It wasn't fair.

"Not with my dad here. He can beat anyone."

"Yeah, Goku can take 'em, no problem."

Vegeta swore again, and Bulma could see a vein on his temple pulsing in anger. "Idiots!" And then, faster than Krillen and Gohan could follow, he lunged for the ball Bulma had clutched in her arms. She let out a terrified shriek and squeezed her eyes closed, waiting to be blasted into oblivion.

She heard the loud smack of flesh hitting flesh, and then a firm crunch and a gasp. When nothing else followed, Bulma cracked one eye open to see Vegeta inches from her face, a look of surprise and pain on his face underneath the perpetual anger, his raised fist held immobile by another, slightly larger gloved hand.

With a gasp, Bulma looked over at Mirai Vegeta, who wore a look of such concentrated fury it was frightening in its intensity. Slowly, he increased his grip on the younger Vegeta's hand, forcing the smaller man back several steps, and then twisted the joints back to force him to his knees. Mirai Vegeta smirked as he heard the delicate bones snap and break under the pressure. Bulma couldn't help but wince at the sound. To his credit, Vegeta refused to cry out; the only outward signs of his discomfort were the sheen of sweat on his forehead and the set of his teeth, bared in a snarl.

"What? Two Vegetas? This doesn't make any sense…" Bulma faintly heard Krillin's voice, but no one answered him. All eyes were focused on the two near-identical saiyajins facing off in front of them.

"...Give me one good reason not to kill you where you stand." Mirai Vegeta's voice was low and gravelly, and Bulma shivered at its dark intensity.

"Wait, Vegeta. You know you can't do that." Goku took a few steps toward his companion, looking alarmed.

Mirai Vegeta snorted and released his counterpart's hand, kicking him to the ground for good measure. "I know that." He huffed. "I was going to stop… after a little begging from this _yamazaru_." He glanced down at where Vegeta was pushing himself to his feet, his right hand dangling uselessly.

"I don't beg for anything, or anyone." The younger man spat, looking murderous.

There was a pause. "...That's what you think." Mirai Vegeta answered cryptically, his voice strange.

With a howl of rage, Vegeta powered up and struck at his older self with his good hand. Mirai Vegeta didn't even bother to block; the blow struck his shoulder, although Vegeta may as well have missed, for all the damage it did.

"What the hell are you?!" he snarled.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid? You heard Kakarotto. We're from the future."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "Bullshit. You're imposters."

"It's true, really." Goku chimed in helpfully. He was ignored as the other two saiyajins stared each other down, their gazes locked in fierce, matching glares.

Aware that a long explanation of events would be forthcoming, and fearing that the two Vegeta's would wind up in an all out brawl without intervention, Bulma made a suggestion. "Why doesn't everyone sit down for a bit?" She looked over to where Gohan and Krillen still stood dumbstruck. "I have a feeling you two have a story to tell also."

* * *

"Lord Furiza." The gray skinned soldier bowed deeply as he entered the room. At his master's nod, he straightened, and waited for permission to speak.

"Yes, what is it?" The soldier shivered at the raspy, deceptively delicate tone. Furiza had been in one of his moods for days, ever since that saiyajin had stolen the Dragonballs, and he had no desire to end up like the last unfortunate soldier that had delivered the "wrong" message to the lord. Luckily, his news was not so grave.

"My Lord." He gave another quick bow, an extra show of submission, and continued. "The Ginyu force has landed on Namek, sire. They are awaiting your orders."

"Wonderful." The thin violet lips twisted into a dark, pleased smile. "Send them in at once. I have a task for them I believe they'll enjoy."

The soldier, not trusting himself to say any more for fear of offending his monarch, simply nodded and turned on his heel, walking as fast as he dared. As he rounded the corner, he heard from behind him Furiza's low chuckle and a self-satisfied murmur.

"…Soon Vegeta, you'll pay…"

The soldier didn't envy the prince once the Ginyu and Furiza got a hold of him.

* * *

_To Be Continued…_

Notes: And there's chapter three, brand new for you reading pleasure! I always thought that if "good" Vegeta ever met his past self he'd punch him in the face. XD I'll try to keep regular updates, but between work and college courses, my time is limited. I've got over three pages of outlines (and my handwriting's _tiny_!) for this fic, and more of diagrams and settings. :P There's a sequel planned also, although nothing is totally written in stone. Any ideas or suggestions you have are welcome!

(...And not to pimp my stuff too badly, but I've got a B/V fanvid up on Youtube, for anyone who's interested. Link is in my profile. ^^)


End file.
